Living Legends made of Flesh and Blood
by Iolana Khenemet
Summary: Introspects after the Destruction. Focus is on the fatherson relationship of Will and Lee Adama.
1. Chapter 1

**Living Legends made of Flesh and Blood**

by Iolana Khenemet  
A story based on the re-imagined BSG  
June 2006

Beta: Many, many hugs to starbuck042786 and Alesia027.  
Timeframe: after 33  
Summary: Introspects after the Destruction; focus is on Adama, Lee (and Roslin)  
A/N: Found this while looking at some of my older stuff.  
Feedback: critical comments highly welcome, mistakes, good lines, anything goes   
Disclaimer: "BATTLESTAR GALACTICA" and other related entities are owned, (TM) and © by R&D TV and Sky TV in association with USA Cable Entertainment LLC. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement intended. No profit is gained by this work.

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Chapter 1/4 Living legends

Commander Adama raised his glass in a silent toast. Across the room, President Roslin blushed but held his gaze and returned the gesture. She had courage, William had to admit, and he had been right in second-guessing her when she had pinned the medals on. Though the awards were well earned, the ceremony had also served another purpose.

While he had given the survivors hope to face the future by sending them on a quasi-religious quest for Earth, the mythical lost colony, Laura Roslin had done something similar today. She had provided them with heroes: heroes that the people could see, admire and touch, not in the future, but right now.

They were the new living legends.

As if. He never saw himself as a superhero - he was only human and felt slightly old today. The 40-year old scars on his leg from the crash on Caprica during the First Cylon War still hurt occasionally. He repressed the urge to shake his head but instead released a small sigh. On the day Cain had taken command of the newly commissioned Battlestar Pegasus as the youngest Commander of the Fleet, she had told him, "Husker, one day you'll be considered a living legend, too, and can take a place next to me." She had meant it as a jibe of course. Well, he could tell her about his success in the Afterlife – if Hades really existed.

William glanced down at the star-shaped award. While he did not feel comfortable accepting the medal, he felt he could wear it as a sign of hope for the people in the Fleet and in memory to all the heroes who had fought until the very end, both during the Destruction and after.

He looked up and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth when Saul Tigh moved towards a corner where Lt. Gaeta stood, only to retreat faster than a Viper to avoid Kara. For a rare moment, things looked so ordinary, as if nothing ill had ever befallen them all.

Bill glanced around and his smile faded. Where was Lee? He did not know all of his son's habits but he was sure leaving early was not among them. Casually, he left the crowded part of the large room and headed for the more secluded areas. This part of _Colonial One_ had several partially screened areas that offered a bit of semi-privacy and could be used for meditation. He did not need to go far.

Lee stood at the window of the third alcove and stared out into space, his fingers touching the glass. His expression was unreadable and stoic, but for William the tension in his son's body was all too obvious.

When Lee's fingers caressed the glass ever so slightly, Bill frowned. His son had shown an outstanding ability to handle stress during the Destruction of the Colonies and the horrendous days that followed when they had to go without sleep for 5 days. Nevertheless, William had known a number of soldiers who were capable of handling combat during the First Cylon War but were unable to cope afterwards. Even now, a number of the people under his command underwent treatment for shell shock or stress disorders. Bill was sure that Lee would not suffer either but deep down he felt the worries that every parent felt for a child stir.

He stepped forward, paused and retreated again without being noticed. Years ago, William would not have hesitated to approach his son; now he did not dare. The brief hug in his quarter right after the Attacks had put an end to the open hostility he had received from his son since Zak's death and that Lee had accepted the gesture said more than words could, especially between the two of them. Still, the wounds were too raw and William did not feel ready to have a real heart-to-heart with Lee.

The sound of approaching steps startled him. Not wanting to be seen, William moved behind a decorative room structure. Unobserved, he could still watch Lee from here. Bill' s eyes narrowed when he recognized the person coming this way.

Unlike himself, Roslin hesitated only seconds before she approached his son.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2/4

Infinite space offered little distraction or comfort. Cold seeped into Lee's fingertips from the glass. Neither boundaries nor enemies were in sight but still he felt closed in. The stellar constellations could not have been more different from the familiar ones on Caprica to remind him what they had lost.

Home.

Billions of lives.

The _Olympic Carrier_.

Mom.

Another family member Lee could not say goodbye to. How he wished that she had re-married months ago instead of waiting so long. Death had taken her just as she was about to start anew and while Adama was not a bad name to die with, it had no longer characterised the woman that was to be Caroline Shane. How long was it since he had last brushed a strand of hair from her face? That emotional gesture had been a small one, yet she always knew what it truly meant.

Women just knew that guys were too stupid to say "I love you." Gianne had always laughed when he had played with a curl, especially when he wrapped one of her blonde tresses around a finger. _Like a golden ring, Lee._ Lips slightly parted and with her body pressing against his, she had looked at him with her wonderful eyes and told him she was expecting. Crying, she had thrown him out of her apartment moments later. Whatever he had replied, it had been the absolute worst thing possible. He was an asshole for saying the wrong thing and a frakup because he did not even know what he had said. All he remembered was the thunder of his heartbeat in his ears and the panic that had shaken him to the core like the icy grip of vacuum just because he was going to be a father. Lords, he was such a coward.

Lee drew a shaky breath. He could never undo the pain he had caused her. Tears welled up in his eyes and he bit on his lip until it hurt. He clenched his hands into fists until he was sure his nails had drawn blood. Lee took another deep breath and pushed her from his mind forcefully by concentrating on the present instead of the past. They were on the run, surviving day by day and searching for Earth, a planet his father claimed to know how to find.

Earth. His father.

Wasn't it just like him to close a painful topic only to open up two others with disturbing content? Lee did not know what to make of it. They were lost in space and then Dad had pulled Earth out of his sleeve. The lost colony was a tale told to small children, or so he had thought. It felt like he was holding the last piece of a puzzle only to find the puzzle already complete. Lords, how he wished to go back to times when at least some things had been uncomplicated.

When Lee was younger, he would not have dared question his father, would not have dared to even think he might behave irresponsible or do anything dishonourable. Often when his old man had been home, he had held little speeches about topics he felt the need to instruct his boys on duty, honour, leadership, friendship and the other things that made a man. If Mom had been the Battlestar Commander, Lee would have told people repeatedly that he had sucked those up like mother's milk. In his minds' eye, his father had been perfect – that was, until the divorce. Still, in the years that followed, all during Lee's adolescence 'Husker' had been his role model, and, though seldom involved in his sons' lives, yet all the more present and adored.

All that changed two years ago. Zak had died and his father's pedestal had crumbled to pieces, dragging down everything Lee had believed in and lived for. Now he no longer knew his father or his own place in the universe. Sometimes Lee felt like a half-empty book - one that had a few childhood memories scribbled down in it but otherwise had been blank until his old man used up all the pages for his lectures or writing out his plans for Lee's future. Lee sighed.

The lighting arrangements in this part of _Colonial One_ were designed to help one meditate and the new star pinned on his dress uniform flashed when the lights in the ceiling changed their pattern. His fingers traced the reflection of the award. Yet another thing he felt unsure about. "May you rot in hell for this!" a ghost from the past whispered. If there had been people still on the Olympic Carrier, then he was sure they had cursed him as well. Maybe he should go see a priest…

Movement accompanied by footsteps ripped him from his ponderings. A woman's shape reflected in the special glass and sharpened as the woman stepped forward and closed the space between them.

Lee blinked when he recognized Laura Roslin. Without turning around, he inclined his head and nodded a greeting. He should do more, after all, she was the President, but he felt so drained that he could not bring himself to turn around. In fact, he had avoided eye contact with her during the whole ceremony though he was not entirely sure why.

Returning the gesture, Laura Roslin moved over until she stopped slightly behind his right shoulder und remained there.

Neither spoke.

Finally, the President broke the silence. "Approximately between 8,000 and 9,000."

Lee turned around quick as a Viper. Their gazes locked and Lee stared into eyes as troubled as his own, and yet so much…older - or wiser? "How…?" His voice trailed off before he could ask her how she knew he had been thinking about the people on the sub-light ships. Mom had the ab– had had the ability to guess him right as well.

"Not too difficult."

He sighed and turned back to space. "We'll never know the exact number."

"No. But we managed to save the larger proportion and against all odds, humanity has survived so far." The President gestured to the medal. "Awarded for outstanding performance while saving the life of the President and for helping to save about 50,000 people. It's earned."

"I know. But it still feels…"

"Tainted with bitterness?"

Lee nodded. "To gather them in the first place only to lose so many again…"

"I can relate." She sighed, paused and laid her hand on his shoulder. "You're not alone, you know."

He stiffened and then relaxed when the warmth of her hand penetrated his uniform. The gesture was strangely comforting... Lee turned his head and looked at her. Suddenly he realised her eyes held all the meaning he had not found in the ceremony. Hesitantly, he lifted his hand and placed it over hers.

For only the second time since the Destruction, he felt …connected again, a feeling he had thought did no longer exist until his father had pulled him into the first embrace since…he was not even sure since when.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3/4

His world reeled when his son reached out towards a stranger. Bill Adama could not tear his gaze away from their locked hands. The gesture was not of sexual nature but one of shared comfort but…but envy still lifted her ugly head and silently roared at the scene in front of him. Roslin had no right to stand there, not now, not ever. William's fists clenched. That place besides his son should rightfully be his.

The comfort he sensed from them both was almost more than he could bear. When exactly had he lost him? Although Lee had been the more introverted of his sons, they had shared moments like this even after Lee had grown from child to teenager and to an adult. Given, they had been sparse, but they had existed. Up until…

Bill shook his head. Had it really all began with Zak's death? There had been so many opportunities lost, so many things left unsaid.

On Lee's Graduation Day, he had nearly burst with pride. Despite being an absentee father, he had succeeded. Whenever he had been home, he had tried to make up for the times he was away, tried to pass on as many values as he could. William trusted his wife completely in her abilities to raise their kids but he wanted to make sure his sons had a male role model when they needed one. Moreover, he wanted them…

What he had wanted seemed unimportant now. Both his sons had chosen to follow their father into the military. One had died and the other had broken off contact with him, accusing him with words said and unsaid. Now Lee and he were talking again, thrust together by the end of their worlds. Although their brief conversations were no longer loaded with contempt and hatred from Lee's side, they were still awkward and unnatural – far from comfortable.

Lee and Laura Roslin drew their hands away but both continued to stand next to each other, silently gazing out into space as if words and gestures were unnecessary between them. William's fingernails dug into his palms and he unclenched his fists. He knew it was much easier to build up a friendship than to repair one.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4/4

"You know, you look like the first man to ever bite into an apple only to find the worm was faster."

William smoothed his features and turned to his XO. Incidentally, he noticed the liquid in Saul's glass did not sparkle and was most likely water.

"Dislike being awarded, Bill?"

"I felt like a dancing bear in there, with the media and all." When Saul kept staring at him, William continued, "and I never thought I'd get an award for –"

"Cutting and running?"

_Always right to the point, aren't you, Saul?_ This ability seemed to have increased after Tigh had stopped drinking; hopefully, he would stay away from alcohol in the future. "Yeah, though the official declaration makes it an outstanding tactical ability…"

Saul looked at him with a doubtful expression. "I see…" He inclined his head, then leaned forward and gazed around Adama. His eyebrows shot up. "I see. I wondered about them."

Adama's eyes narrowed. "Them?" He kept his eyes fixed on Saul, pressuring him to continue.

Tigh cleared his throat before he said, "Well…at Ragnar when they came aboard…oh, well, Lee asked me to 'give _us_ two survival pods'. It sounded like he had cut his ties with the military, but…"

"But?" Bill prompted him, his tone icy.

"But he seems to have settled in…" Saul's voice trailed off under the hard gaze of his friend. He cleared his throat. "I think I'll get something to eat."

"Good idea."

William kept his eyes fixed on Tigh's back while his friend retreated. Saul could not have known that the same thoughts had plagued him until Lee's dedication to the military was rewarded and he made Captain at an early age. Surely, his early promotion had shown his boy that he was born for a career in the military.

Bill gazed over to Lee and wished Roslin would leave his son alone. Lee had enough to worry about without her complicating matters. Nevertheless, he knew she had taken an interest in Lee and she needed all her resources to keep the Civilian Fleet from falling apart. She was more than likely to intrude again.

Where would Lee's priorities be? Bill could only hope his son would stay by his side from now on. A part of him feared - no dreaded - that all they still shared was a family name, genes, the same career choices and some awards. However, the night after the Attacks had given him some hope that not all the bridges were burned.

Adama moved back to the crowded part of the room because he did not want to seem like he intruded. He and Lee would talk, really talk, when it was time. William knew it needed to be soon, since every day could be their last, but it would not be today.

For today belonged to living legends; it was not the day for the flesh and blood problems of fathers and sons.

-fin-


End file.
